What's This About?

Demographics

In this section, we offer selected statistics regarding U.S. youth, together with a few statistics focused on New York State. Links and endnotes will connect you to rich resources for further information. These pages are updated periodically.

U.S. Teen Demographics

According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, there were 41,731,233 youth age 10-19 in the United States, 13% of the total U.S. population, in 2015 [1]. In New York State, the population of youth age 10-19 is estimated to be 2,409,802, 12% of the state's total [2].

Ethnicity, Race, National Origin

Racial/ethnic diversity is greater in the child population than in the adult U.S. population, and diversity among adolescents is increasing [3]. Growth among young, non-white populations is occurring largely in suburbs and small cities [4].

Estimates suggest that by 2020, children and youth of color (under age 18) will be the majority youth population [5] By 2060, the percentage of Hispanic children is expected to reach 34%, while the percentage of white, non-Hispanic children will drop to 36%; together, children who belong to ethnic/racial "minority" groups will comprise 64% of the youth population [3].

Twenty-five percent of all children (age 0-17) are first or second generation immigrants (2015 numbers, here defined as living in the U.S. with at least one foreign-born parent) [6]. Among children age 5-17 in 2013, 22% of children did not speak English at home; however, only 5% of these children had difficulty speaking English [7].

Geographic Settings

In 2011-2012, about 85% of children lived in large urban or suburban areas, and nearly 16% lived in small towns (under 50,000) or more rural areas [8].

Family Income

Median family income in U.S. households with children was $62,100 in 2014 [9].

The percentage of adolescents (age 12-17) living in impoverished or low-income families increased from 35% in 2008 to 40% in 2014 [10]. Nineteen percent of this age group live below the poverty line [10].

Sixty percent of black adolescents live in low-income families, as do 59% of Hispanic, 56% of American Indian, 32% of Asian, 27% of white, and 40% of adolescents of some other race. In this age group, over half (52%) of children of immigrant parents have low incomes. Low income is defined here as less than 200% of the federal poverty line [10].

In 2014, 30% of children lived with parent(s) who did not have steady, full-time employment [11]. In 2014, 21% of all children (under age 18) lived in families that were at times unable to provide enough food [6]. Percentages of food-insecure children are especially high in the black community (34%) [6].

Homelessness

Estimates of homelessness among adolescents vary a great deal. In the 2015 "point-in-time" tally of the homeless conducted by communities across the United States, 36,907 youth (unaccompanied children and young adults under age 25) -- about 7% of the homeless population -- were found to be homeless on the night of the count [12]. In addition, 9,901 parenting youth (parents under age 25 with their child present) were counted [12]. The vast majority of homeless parenting youth were age 18-24.

Estimates from 1998 and 1999 suggest that 1.6-1.7 million youth experience at least one episode of homelessness each year [13].

Homelessness estimates for youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) vary from 6-35%. Pregnant and parenting youth are also at high risk for homelessness; one study found that nearly half of youth living on the streets and 33% of youth in shelters had been pregnant or caused a pregnancy; and roughly 10% of homeless adolescent women are pregnant at the time they are homeless [13]. As youth who have been in foster care transition out of the system, many experience homelessness (11-37%) or unstable housing (25-50%) [14].

Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. (2015). America's children: Key national indicators of well-being, 2015. Language spoken at home and difficulty speaking English. Retrieved August 29, 2016, from
childstats.gov/americaschildren15/family5.asp

Toro, P. A., Dworsky, A., & Fowler, P. J. (2007). Homeless youth in the United States: Recent research findings and intervention approaches. Retrieved August 29, 2016, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development website:
huduser.org/portal/publications/homeless/p6.html